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Vestas And Xerox Planning To Add Colorado Jobs

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PUEBLO, Colo. (AP) — Colorado officials are encouraged after wind turbine manufacturer Vestas Wind Systems said it wants to hire more than 100 new people in Pueblo, while Xerox Services in Greeley said it plans to add 1,000 more seasonal employees through the end of the year.

The new Xerox employees will be trained to handle customer service calls from people who want to make changes or enroll in health care plans.

Xerox Corp. already has about 3,000 employees in Colorado. The company moved into Greeley last year.

The company expects to hire another 300 people in the Colorado Springs area. An announcement on those plans is expected soon.

“We’re just stocking up now, and we’re moving positions into Colorado that will be year-round,” said Kelly O’Brien, recruiting director for Xerox Services.

The positions pay $9.75 an hour to start, plus incentives.

The Vestas wind tower plant in Pueblo expects to get busier and hire more workers in coming months, Pueblo leaders said Monday following a visit to the plant.

With U.S. wind project orders starting to rebound, the tower plant has set a goal of reaching full capacity by 2014, Pueblo City Council President Steve Nawrocki said after the meeting.

The goal would lead to the hiring of up to 230 additional workers by year’s end, bringing the plant to more than 600 workers, Nawrocki said.

The plant is holding a job fair Wednesday in Pueblo and wants to hire local workers. However, company officials cautioned that it’s struggling to find enough trained local welders, spray painters, supervisors and other workers.

“They told us that they would be doing everything they could to hire those people locally, but they may not have any alternative but to reach out and look regionally,” said Pueblo Economic Development Corp. CEO Jack Rink.

The company is in the running to supply a number of U.S. wind projects, including several in Colorado.

The Colorado projects include proposals by Xcel, Black Hills Energy, Tri-State and Platte River Power Authority.